Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel was involved in two car crashes and reported neither,
and one of the crashes may have violated federal campaign
finance law. During a March accident, Mandel, a Republican, was riding
in a vehicle owned by his 2012 U.S. Senate campaign months after he
lost to Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown. Federal law states Senate
campaign property can't be used for personal use or to campaign for a
different office, such as state treasurer. Mandel’s state treasurer
campaign says it rented out the car from the Senate campaign, but The
Associated Press found the check didn’t clear out until June 30 — seven
months after the Senate campaign and four months after the crash — and
the rent wasn’t fully paid for until reporters started asking questions.

Republican state legislators are drafting a bill that would overhaul Ohio’s Medicaid program. The legislation isn’t the Medicaid expansion,
which Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder now says isn’t a good idea.
Instead, the upcoming bill would make changes to attempt to control Medicaid’s rising costs, which
have put an increasing strain on the state budget in the past few years. Batchelder
says the bill will be introduced in the fall and likely voted out of the
House by the end of the year.

Mayoral candidates John Cranley and Roxanne Qualls are rolling out their latest endorsements.
Yesterday, State Rep. Alicia Reece said she’s backing Cranley. On
Friday, Qualls touted support from Equality Ohio, the Miami Group of the
Sierra Club, the National Organization of Women Cincinnati, Plumbers
and Pipefitters Local 392 and the Ohio-Kentucky Administrative District
Council of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsworkers. Endorsements rarely influence the outcome of elections.

The Ohio Parole Board rejected a killer’s plea for mercy.
Harry Mitts Jr. is scheduled to die by injection on Sept. 25 for
killing two men, including a police officer, at an apartment. Court
records claim Mitts uttered racial slurs before killing his first
victim, who was black. Mitts’ defense says he was blacked out from
alcohol the night of the slayings and didn’t know what he was doing.
With the board’s rejection, Mitts’ fate is now up to Gov. John Kasich,
who could commute the sentence to life in prison.

Susan Castellini, wife of the Cincinnati Reds CEO, will join the Cincinnati Parks Board after being appointed earlier in August by Mayor Mark Mallory and City Council.

As it celebrates its 40th anniversary, Metro, Greater Cincinnati’s bus system, is moving forward
with changes that seek to improve services that have dealt with funding
shortfalls and cuts in the past few years. The biggest change is
Metro*Plus, a new limited-stop weekday bus service that will be free
through Aug. 23. Metro spokesperson Jill Dunne says Metro*Plus is a step
toward bus rapid transit (BRT), an elaborate system that uses limited
stops, traffic signal priority and bus-only lanes. Metro*Plus is mostly
federally funded, and Metro says an expansion into BRT, which could cost
hundreds of millions of dollars, would also be carried by federal
grants. Besides Metro*Plus, Cincinnati’s bus system is also adding and
cutting some routes.

State Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, says he will introduce legislation
capping how much utilities can spend on energy efficiency programs and
scrapping requirements for in-state solar and wind power — two major
moves that will weaken Ohio’s Clean Energy Law. But Seitz says the
changes would keep mandates for utilities to provide one-fourth of their
electricity through alternative sources and reduce consumer consumption by 22
percent by 2025. Environmentalists have been critical of
Seitz’s review ever since he announced it in response to pressure from
Akron-based FirstEnergy, which CityBeat covered in further detail here. (Correction: This paragraph previously said utilities are required to provide one-fourth of their electricity through renewable sources; the requirement actually applies to “alternative sources.”)

Libertarian mayoral candidate Jim Berns yesterday declared his campaign dead and blamed local media, including CityBeat,
for its demise. Berns said the media has done little to promote him
over Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls and ex-Councilman John Cranley, who have
similar views on every major issue except the streetcar and parking
plan, both of which Qualls supports and Cranley opposes. In response,
Berns attached a picture of himself playing dead in front of a vehicle. The
stunt was just the latest in the Libertarian’s campaign, which has
included Berns quitting the race for one day before deciding to stay in,
the candidate giving away tomato plants while claiming they’re
marijuana and lots of free ice cream.

Cranley is airing a new advertisement attacking Qualls. The ad focuses largely on the streetcar and parking plan. As Chris Wetterich of The Business Courier points out, the ad “takes some factual liberties”:
Parking meters are being leased, not sold, to the quasi-public Greater
Cincinnati Port Authority, and it’s so far unclear how the money from the
lease is going to be spent and if the resulting projects will really
favor downtown over neighborhoods.

State officials are reporting a 467-percent increase
in the amount of seized meth labs this year. “We’re seeing a continuous
spike,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “It is easier (for
people to make the drug). We used to talk about ‘meth houses,’ or places
people would make this. Well, today, you can make it in a pop bottle.”

Ohio’s school report cards will be released today, allowing anyone to go online and see what a school is rated on an A-F scale.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs yesterday
announced more than $317,000 will be directed to Ohio to provide critical
housing and clinical services for homeless veterans. The grants are
part of the $75 million appropriated this year to support housing needs for
homeless veterans.

Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld is launching a new initiative
called #RunTheCity, which will allow citizens to run or walk alongside
local officials in an event that’s supposed to simultaneously encourage access and healthy living. The first event with City Solicitor
John Curp, Cincinnati’s top lawyer, will be tonight at 6 p.m. at Wulsin
Triangle, corner of Observatory Avenue and Madison Road in Hyde Park.

Two Greater Cincinnati companies — U.S. Logistics and ODW Logistics & Transportation Services — made the Inc. 500 list for fastest-growing companies, and more than 50 others made the Inc. 5,000 list. Four landed on the Inc. 500 list last year and one got on the list in 2011.

Another good local economic indicator: Greater Cincinnati home sales jumped 30 percent in July.

Jim Berns blames local media for his campaign’s failure

Libertarian mayoral candidate Jim Berns today pronounced his campaign dead and claimed local media, including CityBeat, is to blame.

“From day one, the Cincinnati Print Media (especially the
Enquirer) have thrown Libertarian candidate for mayor, Jim Berns, under
the bus,” Berns wrote in an email, listing Carl Weiser, Jane
Prendergast, Ryan Hoffman and Ben Goldschmidt of The Cincinnati Enquirer, Howard Wilkinson of WVXU, German Lopez of CityBeat and Chris Wetterich of The Business Courier as the main culprits.

In the email, Berns complains that the two frontrunners in the
mayoral race — Democrats Roxanne Qualls and John Cranley — have nearly
identical records. Those candidates’ biggest points of disagreement are
the streetcar and parking plan, both of which Qualls supports and Cranley opposes.

The email claims the media should call Berns “courageous, innovative, a real choice” instead of a “perennial
candidate.”

Berns then attached this picture:

The latest stunt is just one of many that have been part of Berns’ campaign.

In general, the Libertarian’s campaign has focused a lot
on giving stuff away. His campaign card proudly touts his intent to give
out free ice cream, which he has repeatedly done at events.

As a Libertarian, Berns supports lower taxes and smaller government and opposes drug prohibition. He was endorsed by the conservative Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST).

Cincinnati is generally considered a Democratic stronghold, which has kept Berns’ chances of winning the mayoral race very low. The city hasn’t had a non-Democratic mayor since Charterite Arnold
Bortz left office in 1984. Back then, the local Democratic Party and the Charter
Committee were working together through a coalition.

Councilman collects more than 1,500 signatures

Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld has resolved his petition problems and will appear on the ballot for reelection this November.

“The (Hamilton County Board of Elections) confirmed last
night we have more than enough signatures to be placed on the ballot,”
Sittenfeld wrote in an email.

Sally Krisel, deputy director of the Board of Elections,
says the board has so far verified more than 900 signatures out of the
1,500 Sittenfeld turned in. Council candidates need 500 to get
on the ballot.

Sittenfeld was one of two candidates who faced petition problems
last week. In his case, petitions were found to have
crossed-out dates with corrections written on the back, which election officials
said might disqualify hundreds of signatures. In response, Sittenfeld renewed
his petition drive.

In a Facebook post this morning, Sittenfeld thanked a
93-year-old family friend, a former teacher, City Council candidates and
other volunteers for helping with the effort.

Mike Moroski, who was told his original batch of petitions fell 46 signatures short, wrote on Twitter that he turned in more than 1,100 signatures this morning. In a statement, Moroski thanked his team and participants
for helping him collect the signatures, which the Board of Elections will now need to verify.

The deadline for turning in City Council petitions is Aug. 22. Once the Board of Elections finishes verifying the numbers, it will release the full slate of candidates.

Cincinnati mayoral candidate and ex-Councilman John Cranley today
announced his two-part innovation plan, which he said would boost government transparency and help continue the
nationally recognized momentum Cincinnati has recently gained as a tech
startup hub.

The plan would take $5 million over four years from the
capital budget and ask local startup incubators Cintrifuse, The Brandery
and CincyTech where they would like to see the money going. As one
example, Cranley said the money could help host an annual “hackathon” in
which savvy innovators compete to create apps that could better connect
residents and city services.

When asked specifically where the money would come from,
Cranley said it would be part of the $30 million the city allocates each year to capital projects. Cranley also remarked that the city will
have more capital funds if he dismantles the streetcar project, which he has long opposed.

Cranley’s innovation plan also calls for hiring a chief
innovation officer (CIO) and creating “CincyData,” a transparency
initiative that would gather and publish city data to create “a more
efficient, effective and user-friendly City government.”

“This is about improving customer service for city services,” Cranley said.

The CIO and CincyData would also help find new ways to
carry out city services in the hopes of running the local government
more efficiently.

Cranley said he’s in preliminary talks with Cincinnati
Bell to see what it would take and how much it would cost to establish
CincyData.

As for the CIO, paying for the position’s salary would cost the city about
$50,000 to $60,000 a year, according to Cranley. That’s about 0.01 to
0.02 percent of the city’s operating budget.

Cranley said he currently has no one in mind for the CIO position.

Cranley is running for mayor against fellow Democrat Vice
Mayor Roxanne Qualls, who has publicly supported Cincinnati’s startup
incubators during her time in City Council; Libertarian Jim Berns; and
Independent Sandra “Queen” Noble.

Cincinnati recently gained national recognition for its tech boom in Entrepreneurand CNBC, with Entrepreneur calling the city “an unexpected hub for tech startups.”

City Council on Aug. 7 approved using $4.5 million to help
move Cintrifuse, The Brandery and CincyTech to new Over-the-Rhine
headquarters. Cintrifuse claims the new home will make it easier to
attract and keep businesses in Cincinnati, especially since
Over-the-Rhine is currently undergoing its own economic revitalization.

An Aug. 14 study
from Engine and the Kauffman Foundation found high-tech startups add
jobs more quickly than new businesses in other sectors, but the startups are also
just as likely to fail as other businesses in the long term. The study also found that tech
startups are more likely to cluster, so establishing a city or other
location as a hub can help bring in more similar businesses.

P.G. Sittenfeld, Mike Moroski renewing drives

Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld and City Council
candidate Mike Moroski are both facing issues that could keep them off
the ballot this November, but both candidates are renewing their
petition drives to correct the issues before it’s too late.

Council candidates must file 500 valid petition signatures
to the Hamilton County Board of Elections by Aug. 22 to get on the ballot, but two different
circumstances are putting those prospects in doubt for Moroski and
Sittenfeld.

In Moroski’s case, he fell 46 signatures short of the 500
needed. Because the petitions were already filed, he now has to regather
all of the necessary signatures and file them to the Board of
Elections.

Moroski told CityBeat that he’s already collected
more than 200 signatures in the past 24 hours and intends to turn in a batch of 800 to 900 before the filing deadline.

“We’re determined to get on the ballot, and we’re determined to win,” he says.

For Sittenfeld, the circumstances are a little more
technical: Because dates were crossed out on various petitions and
corrected on the back of the forms, the board isn’t sure whether the
rules allow them to accept the signatures. If the petitions aren’t
accepted, Sittenfeld would fall under the 500-signature threshold, even
though more than 700 valid signatures were confirmed, according to
Sittenfeld’s campaign.

To avoid the problems entirely, Sittenfeld is now regathering the necessary signatures.

“The four board members of the (Board of Elections) will
make the final decision on the validity of my petitions and I hope and
believe it is unlikely that they will invalidate my signatures,”
Sittenfeld said in an emailed statement to supporters. “However, I am
leaving nothing to chance and am determined to continue serving the
citizens of our community.”

Both candidates are asking supporters who signed the old
petitions to come back to them and sign the new ones. If not, they might
not appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Cincinnati Council’s Budget and Finance Committee approved the construction of Over-the-Rhine headquarters
for Cintrifuse, the startup incubator. The company has been working
from a temporary location downtown, but it claims it needs a better space
to continue attracting businesses, particularly those in the tech
field. Cintrifuse will be joined in its new home by CincyTech and the
Brandery. Although all council members voiced support for Cintrifuse,
Councilman Chris Seelbach disputed using Focus 52 funds to build the new
headquarters. The city administration previously told Seelbach that the
Focus 52 money wouldn’t be used to further develop Over-the-Rhine,
which has received a disproportionate amount of city funding to spur the
neighborhood’s revitalization.

The committee also approved changes for the next phase of The Banks,
which will include retail space and a nine-story apartment building with about 305
apartments. The first phase of The Banks filled
up fast and won a top award
— two big positives the city and county obviously hope to replicate with the next leg of the project.
It’s now up to the development team behind
the project and the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners to approve the next phase.

Council members and city officials voiced opposition yesterday to a tea party campaign to change Cincinnati’s pension system.
Council members acknowledged the current pension system has problems, but they
called the campaign, which is currently gathering petitions to get a proposal
on the November ballot, misguided and flawed. The proposal would change
the city’s pension system to use a defined contribution model similar to
401k plans that are common in the private sector. But just like private
sector plans, the new system might require paying into Social Security, which would
make the plan more expensive for Cincinnati.

Ohio House Republicans are being asked to hold oversight hearings
for JobsOhio, the state-funded, privatized development agency that has
been mired in controversy in the past few weeks. Most recently, Dayton Daily News
discovered that some members of the JobsOhio board are employed by, on
the board of or stockholders in companies that are receiving state aid
through JobsOhio. Republicans say JobsOhio’s privatized and secretive
nature allow it to move faster with deals that attract businesses and
jobs to the state, but Democrats argue the agency is too unaccountable
and might be wasting and misusing taxpayer money.

Billy Slagle, the convicted murderer who apparently hung himself over the weekend, died without knowing of a plea deal that could have prevented his scheduled execution. CityBeat wrote about Slagle’s case in further detail here.

The Ohio Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is upset that charges have been dropped against an allegedly abusive Amish dog breeder.
The group had pushed for charges against Jonas Beachy, the breeder,
after 52 dogs were pulled from his central Ohio farm with dental disease, feces-smeared coats and paws mangled by wire mesh
cages. Circleville Law Director Gary Kenworthy conditionally dismissed
the charges because of problems securing veterinarian records for the
dogs.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS)
announced in a statement today that the Ohio Human Trafficking Task
Force, the Ohio Department of Public Safety and ODJFS will be working
with the Ohio Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers to help minors who
are victims of human trafficking. The new collaboration is seen as
another step to stop human trafficking in Ohio, an issue that has haunted the state in the past.

Ex-Councilman John Cranley is outraising
Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls in the mayoral race by $124,000, but the
history and research of money in politics suggest the lead might not
matter much, if at all. Mayor Mark Mallory was outspent more than
three-to-one in the 2005 mayoral race by David Pepper, but Mallory won
the vote 52-48 percent. Political scientists argue fundraising and
campaigns generally have a marginal impact, while economic growth, the
direction of the city, state and country, incumbency or successorship,
name likability and recognition, and political affiliation have much
bigger effects. [Correction: This originally said $134,000 when the correct number is $124,000.]

The board that manages Cincinnati employees’ struggling pension system won’t make a recommendation to City Council Monday,
as originally planned, because it can’t decide how much taxpayers and
employees should suffer to help fix the $862 million unfunded liability.
Board members couldn’t agree on the proper balance between benefit
cuts and increased funding from the city. Credit rating agency Moody’s
on July 15 downgraded Cincinnati’s bond rating
from Aa1 to Aa2 and revised the bonds’ outlook to “negative.” Moody’s
stated one of the biggest causes of concern for Cincinnati’s debt
outlook is its pension fund.

There were massive layoffs at The Cincinnati Enquirer
and its parent company Gannett yesterday, including the reported
closing of the newspaper’s Kentucky office. As of the latest update from
Gannett Blog,
more than 200 people were laid off nationwide and 11 lost their jobs at
the Cincinnati offices. The news comes just two weeks after Gannett CEO
Gracia Martore proudly claimed on July 22, “We are accelerating our transformation into the ‘New Gannett’ every day.”

A few dozen residents organized by a conservative group asked the Greater Cincinnati Port Authority
to kill Cincinnati’s parking lease at a meeting Thursday. The Port is
taking control over Cincinnati’s parking meters, lots and garages as
part of a controversial deal that will net the city $92 million up front
and $3 million or more a year afterward. CityBeat covered the lease in further detail here.

While the Port Authority meeting apparently warranted live
tweeting and various articles from several outlets, other local media outlets never covered a streetcar social that involved roughly 200 supporters of the Cincinnati streetcar and Mayor Mallory.

State officials claim average costs for health insurance
will soar by 41 percent for Ohioans who buy coverage online under
Obamacare, but experts say the state’s claims are misleading.
“These are sticker prices, and very few people will pay these prices,”
said Larry Levitt, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family
Foundation. “Many will qualify for subsidies.” The Republican officials
touting the claims of higher costs, including Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, have opposed
Obamacare from the start.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald is once again asking for an ethics probe
of Gov. John Kasich and JobsOhio, the privatized development
agency established by Republicans to replace the Ohio Department of
Development. Republicans claim JobsOhio is creating thousands of job in
the state, but Democrats argue the agency’s secretive nature makes it
difficult to verify whether taxpayer dollars are being effectively used.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine yesterday announced a
statewide Internet cafe investigation spanning to an establishment in
Middletown. “We are still in the beginning stages of what we expect to
be a very lengthy investigation,” DeWine said in a statement. “While it
is too early in the investigation to go into specifics, we do believe
the alleged criminal activity at these locations goes beyond illegal
gambling.” Earlier in the year, Gov. John Kasich and the state
legislature effectively banned Internet cafes, which they claimed were
hubs for online gambling and illegal activity.

The Ohio crime lab received about 3,300 untested rape kits
from law enforcement around the state and found nearly 400 DNA matches
after testing more than 1,300 of the kits. DeWine says the extensive tests are
helping solve sexual assault crimes.

Just one day after announcing he’s quitting the mayoral race, Libertarian Jim Berns is asking to rejoin. Berns withdrew from the race
Wednesday in protest of the mayoral primary election and debate
schedule. In a statement, he said he had changed his mind because
staying in the race supposedly allows him to shed light on important issues.

History suggests fundraising is not necessarily an indicator of strength

Ex-Councilman John Cranley is outraising Vice Mayor
Roxanne Qualls in the 2013 mayoral race by roughly $124,000. Some are
calling the fundraising lead an important indicator of strength, but the history and research of money in politics show the lead might
not matter much, if at all.

The numbers came in yesterday as political candidates from
around the state filed their finance reports. So far, Cranley has
raised about $472,000, compared to Qualls’ $348,000. Of that money,
Cranley has about $264,000 still in hand, and Qualls has nearly
$193,000.

The disparity is unsurprising to the campaigns. The
Cranley campaign has always said it needs $1 million to win. Qualls,
who’s been polled as the slight favorite, has a tamer goal of $750,000.

The City Council races are similarly sprawled with cash.
Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld is leading the pack with nearly $279,000,
while newcomer Greg Landsman topped challengers and even
some council members with a total raised of $165,000.

Given all the cash pouring into the campaigns, many people
assume it plays a pivotal role. But a look at the history and research
shows fundraising might not matter all that much.

Money clearly didn’t matter in the 2005 mayoral race.
During that campaign, former State Sen. Mark Mallory spent nearly
$380,000. Ex-Councilman David Pepper spent $1.2 million — more than
three times his opponent. Mallory still won the vote 52-48 percent.

In contrast, money might have boosted Sittenfeld to second
place in the 2011 Council races, putting the relatively new challenger
only behind the widely known Qualls. Sittenfeld raised $306,000 for that
campaign, the most out of anyone in the race.

Still, most political science points to money having a
marginal, if any, electoral impact. Jennifer Victor, a political science professor
at George Mason University, explains the research in her blog: “Campaigning may help voters focus their attention (see this), be persuasive in some cases (see this), and help deliver successful message (see this).
Frequently, macro-economic trends are the best predictors of
presidential elections. History tells us that all that money spent by
outsiders may not affect the outcome of the election — because campaigns
(generally) don’t matter (see political science researchhere,here, andhere, for example).”

Instead, political scientists cite other factors as
much more important indicators: economic growth, the direction of the city, state
and country, incumbency or successorship, name likability and
recognition, and political affiliation.

The mayoral primary election is Sept. 10, followed by the final election on Nov. 5. The next finance reports are due Oct. 24.

[Correction: This story originally said $134,000 when the correct number is $124,000.]

Although this year’s cuts are being undone, City Hall has been cutting resources
to the homeless, long-term unemployed, crime victims and casualties of
domestic abuse since 2004. Aid to those groups is part of human services
funding, which is supposed to receive 1.5 percent of the operating
budget but currently gets a quarter of that at 0.4 percent. To explain
the decade of cuts, the city administration typically points to citizen
surveys and meetings conducted as part of the priority-driven budgeting
process. But a CityBeat analysis of the demographics of the process found they were skewed in favor of the wealthiest
Cincinnatians and against low-income people, who benefit the most from
human services. For the agencies that receive funding, the history of cuts is even
more worrying as Cincinnati prepares for more budget gaps in the next
few years.

The state of Ohio will execute Billy Slagle on Aug. 7,
even though the prosecutor’s office behind the charges asked the Ohio
Parole Board to grant him clemency. The parole board denied the request,
and Gov. John Kasich last week declined to commute the sentence to life
in prison. Slagle was convicted in 1988 of murdering a 40-year-old
woman in a gruesome stabbing. His family says he was in an alcohol- and
drug-fueled haze at the time and has a history of problems at home, including
domestic abuse, that presents extenuating circumstances.

Two longshot mayoral candidates are really upset
about Cincinnati’s primary system: Independent Sandra “Queen” Noble
sent an F-bomb-laden email to debate organizers, and Libertarian Jim
Berns quit the race. Under the current primary system, multiple mayoral
candidates are allowed to run. But come Sept. 10, voters will select the
top two contenders in a primary. Those frontrunners will then face off
in a final election on Nov. 5 to pick who will take over City Hall on
Dec. 1. Noble and Berns claim the current system favors the two
frontrunners — Democrats Roxanne Qualls and John Cranley — by helping
them get the most exposure through televised debates after the primary
election.

Cranley has raised more money
than Qualls in the mayoral race, according to campaign finance reports
filed yesterday. Cranley has raised about $472,000, compared to $348,000
for Qualls. Cranley also has about $264,000 in the bank, while the
Qualls campaign has about $192,000 in hand.

Undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country as children will be eligible for in-state tuition
at Ohio public colleges, following a decision from the Ohio Board of
Regents. The change will save the students thousands of dollars at the
state’s public schools, which were charging exorbitant out-of-state and
international rates before. The undocumented immigrants qualify for
legal benefits because of an executive order signed by President Barack Obama earlier in the year
that prevents the federal government from prosecuting them. The order
falls short of actual legalization on the books, but it grants many benefits under state and federal law.